~ About Me ~

I am twenty years old and I have lived in southeastern Michigan all my life. Most of the photos in my galleries were taken in various places in Michigan. Several times each year, my family goes on vacation up north, most often to the Pictured Rocks area of the Upper Peninsula . Most of the nature photos were taken in the Keweenaw Peninsula (the northernmost region of Michigan ). In October 2007, I won two tickets to see J.K. Rowling read from her last book at Carnegie Hall in New York. Since the prize did not come with airfare or lodging, we made a family trip out of it. We stayed in New Jersey and took the train into the city each morning. It was an amazing experience. In the summer of 2009 my family took a trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. That is the trip of a lifetime for a photographer like myself. I love to travel to places that everyone needs to see and capture the moments as I see them.

I am the middle child with two sisters—Jessica (22) and Marissa (8). I have a rare bone disease called multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE) which causes tumors to grow all over my bones. I have had over twenty tumors removed so far and often miss school because of my disease. Photography has been a way for me to enjoy myself when I can't participate in sports and such. My hobbies, other than photography, include reading, writing, drawing, painting, and making beaded jewelry. I like to experiment with all kinds of art. I also have lots of pets - a german shepherd-chow-retriever mix named Ted, a border collie mix named Bailey, eight cats, and more fish than I can count.

Right now I attend Schoolcraft College. I would like to pursue a career in photography -I just can't seem to narrow it down. My dream job would be to work for a magazine such as National Geographic as a travel photographer. This year I've been working as a staff photographer for The Schoolcraft Connection. I never thought I would enjoy working for a newspaper, but have been pleasantly surprised. I've actually been having fun with it. I am also an active member of the Livonia Camera Club (and just designed their new website) along with my dad, amateur photographer, Donald Getschman. That club has given me a decade of valuable input and experience with photography. Now I need to find a way to get the education I need to pursue my dream career. That has proven to be more difficult than I ever expected. Last year I started a Blog that I have been using to keep my readers updated with my work and to try and get myself more well-known. I plan on going as far as I can in the field of photography.

I have been given the same advice by established photographers countless times: “Find your niche in one subject, and devote all your time to it. Every photographer must choose their specialty”.

I couldn’t disagree more.

My mission is to capture the world around me as I see it. The world is so diverse that it would be a shame to pick just one aspect of life to photograph, and close my eyes to the rest of the world. So while I may get criticised for being unfocused, I take pride in being open to anything the world has to show me.The best praise I recieve is when people say "Oh, to see the world through your eyes".

I hope you enjoyed my pictures and please email me comments about this site.